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Commercial three way catalysts (TWC) are designed to eliminate HC, CO and NOx pollutants emitted from gasoline powered internal combustion engines. TWC have been optimized over many years to meet ever more stringent emission regulations. It has long been speculated that surface electrical conductivity may be a key parameter in controlling catalytic activity, however until now it has not been possible to reliably measure this physical parameter on a catalytic surface. In this study, the surface electrical conductivity of catalyst powders, such as Rh/ CeO1-x-ZrxO2, Rh/ZrO2 and Rh/Al2O3, were measured by EUPS (Extreme Ultraviolet excited Photoelectron Spectroscopy). Then the measured electrical conductivity was compared with catalyst performance from CO-NO and water gas shift reactions which are important for controlling automobile exhaust emissions from gasoline vehicles.

Three way catalysts (TWC) contain Oxygen Storage Component (OSC) materials to enhance HC, CO oxidation and NOx reduction performance under standard operating conditions where there is rapid perturbation of the air-to-fuel ratio (A/F). The OSC function is required to storage and to release oxygen, however the optimum storage capacity and release rate to maximize HC, CO and NOx conversion varies as a function of engine operating conditions, such as A/F perturbation frequency, amplitude and temperature. At the same time, it is necessary for the vehicle on board diagnostics (OBD) systems to monitor that the catalyst OSC is functioning correctly. Detailed understanding of how OSC characteristics can simultaneously match gas performance and OBD functionality are not well known. In this study, modeling of the OSC function was attempted by considering chemical functions to be analogous to that in an equivalent electrical circuit, having components of resistance and capacitance.

Three Way Catalysts (TWC) contain oxygen storage components (OSC) to enhance HC, CO oxidation and NOx reduction performance under standard operating conditions where there is rapid perturbation of the air-to-fuel ratio (A/F). The OSC function is required to storage and to release oxygen, however the optimum storage capacity and release rate to maximize HC, CO and NOx conversion varies as a function of engine operating conditions, such as A/F perturbation frequency, amplitude and temperature. At the same time it is necessary for the vehicle on board diagnostics (OBD) systems to monitor that the catalyst OSC is functioning correctly. Detailed understanding of how OSC characteristics can simultaneously match gas performance and OBD functionality are not well known. In this study, several TWC catalysts were prepared with different types of OSC materials such that oxygen storage capacity and activation energy for oxygen release could be varied over a wide range.